Borg was surprised. Their area produced a lot of jade, and apart from some used for trade, most of it was sent to his residence. He had seen all kinds of jade, so no matter what quality it was, it was not something that he found particularly rare. What was precious now was Emperor Kangxi's attitude!
The Emperor's attitude surprised him greatly, and he truly had no idea what had happened. How could the Emperor be so happy because of a mere child's words? He turned his head and glanced at Jituo.
"My son is utterly unworthy of such a reward from His Majesty!" He was still somewhat apprehensive, while Ji Tuo boldly raised his head, his eyes filled with anticipation, as if shining brightly. He looked at Emperor Kangxi with such joy, which made Emperor Kangxi like him even more. He was so poised and generous, without feeling ashamed or embarrassed at all that he was asking for a gift.
"Look, this is what I gave him, not you. Why are you in such a hurry?" He laughed heartily. Emperor Kangxi then took the knife handed to him by the eunuch, took a few steps forward, and handed it to Jituo.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Jituo was even taller and more muscular than he appeared to the naked eye, with broad shoulders comparable to Borg. He was indeed a promising talent for martial arts and warfare, and Emperor Kangxi greatly admired him, especially for his courageous demeanor—another formidable general!
To show their closeness, although this was a banquet, it wasn't a particularly high-profile one, and there were no outsiders present. His unpretentious behavior demonstrated how much he valued Gita.
Such attention is already quite rare. They even brought their own children along, but why didn't the Emperor offer any words of comfort to their children? Instead, he seemed to greatly admire this young man!
Since the Qing Dynasty's national strength grew stronger and stronger, it had been many, many years since he was called the Heavenly Khan.
Perhaps when he was in his teens or twenties, he would still feel excited by these words—at that time, he cared a lot about such things or other people's opinions, and he would be very happy to see that he could achieve something. But by the time Emperor Kangxi was 30, he was used to hearing these words.
He received so much criticism that he stopped caring about others' opinions, whether good or bad. Gradually, he stopped paying attention to them and stopped taking them to heart.
If an emperor blindly listens to others, he will lose his own opinions, gradually become enamored with praise, and become an arrogant and self-willed person.
But the fact that a two-year-old child said those words to him back then, and that he still remembered them after so many years, made Emperor Kangxi happy and cherished such a gesture. So, it was no big deal to like him a little more and give him a reward!
“Gito, you should train him well. Since all the young men from various tribes have come, I plan to gather all the fine young men of the Manchu in a few days to have a martial arts competition and a polo match, so that I can see the potential of these young men! Gito, you must go!” He patted Gito on the shoulder, and Gito took the knife with great care, nodded vigorously, and bowed to him, “Gito thanks Your Majesty for the reward.”
Although this was the first time Emperor Kangxi had said this in front of them, these princes were all shrewd and had long heard that Emperor Kangxi had arranged for the Crown Prince to do this. It was not a sudden idea of theirs!
However, as the one personally selected by the emperor to participate in this competition, Jituo still made quite a splash after the banquet. Now all the tribes know that there is such a child who has been given special attention by the emperor!
Good! They've only just arrived in the capital, just met the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and haven't even had a chance to discuss the marriage alliance or exchange more than a few words with the Emperor, yet some people are already trying to curry favor with them!
Moreover, Emperor Kangxi had been impressed by this Jituo many years ago, and it was only this time that his goodwill towards him suddenly emerged!
However, another topic that people are discussing is the matter that Emperor Kangxi just mentioned, which is to gather them together for a martial arts competition. Since they have already lost the battle in this matter and are trying to leave a good impression on the emperor, isn't this another good opportunity to continue to show off?
This is an opportunity we absolutely must seize. The more the Emperor Kangxi remembers us, the more likely he is to remember those princesses in a year or two, even if he doesn't plan to arrange their marriages now.
Therefore, each tribe attaches great importance to it.
They not only wanted to marry a princess, but also hoped for a marriage alliance with another tribe. Therefore, the princes of those tribes had been interacting exceptionally frequently lately.
Borg was in high spirits because of the last banquet, and he walked around with a brisk pace!
However, there were undercurrents surging in the capital. First of all, the Dzungar had been gradually mobilizing the spies in the capital to find out what the Qing emperor's intentions were.
Why are they suddenly making such a high-profile decision to choose a husband for the princess? Could it really be a smokescreen? Their concerns about war between the two sides have made them suspicious!
Moreover, last year's drought not only harmed Mongolia, but also caused heavy losses to the Dzungar Khanate, which borders Mongolia. They did not receive aid from the Qing Dynasty, but were regarded as enemies by the Qing Dynasty. They have not yet recovered and certainly do not want to start a war!
But would Emperor Kangxi really choose such an opportunity to take advantage of his illness and kill him? That's not what they were thinking, so they are on high alert now!
Emperor Kangxi could probably sense that things were very unsettled in the capital recently. However, they were in the open while the enemy was in the shadows. If they wanted to lure them out, they could only set up bait first and then gradually get them to take action. Perhaps they could even take this opportunity to eliminate their spies in the capital, which would be a good opportunity.
Moreover, with the development of the Qing Dynasty's secret weapons, several spies had already been captured in the capital a few years ago, including some who had been based there for decades. The fact that the Dzungars exposed these spies shows that they were starting to get anxious and were afraid of such powerful weapons.
The Qing Dynasty cannot hide forever; it is best to make them take action so that they can be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Amidst the covert competition and the overt preparations between the two sides, the polo tournament is also about to begin.
Before the official competition or selection, both the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia conducted their own selections. In particular, many tribes came from Mongolia, and there were more than 20 teenagers of this age. It was impossible for everyone to participate. So who would participate? Of course, those with good equestrian skills would be chosen so as not to cause Mongolia to lose face.
Even if there was no competition, the person named Jituo was still required to go.
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